Worcester County Council’s climate plan needs drastic change if it is to halt the effects of global warming, Councillor Dan Boatright has warned.

This came after a report released by the International Panel on Climate Change suggested that a key temperature limit could be broken in as little as a decade, with the UN chief dubbing the findings as a “code red for humanity”.

Worcester County Council agreed to declare a climate emergency last month, committing to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050.

This was met with criticism from some councillors, including Cllr Boatright, who had urged the target to be brought forward to 2035 to combat rising temperatures.

And the Liberal Democrat has once again voiced his concerns over the progress of the Council’s current plan, he said: “I’ve never agreed with 2050.

“I’ve always said it is too little, too late, it passes the buck, and it is a decision made by a whole bunch of people who are unlikely to be here in 2050 – which makes it more infuriating.

“Now we’ve got a report that not only suggests that it is too little too late but gives pretty damning evidence of that.

“The IPCC have always said that we need to have all emissions down by 2030, and then we’ve got to get even closer to zero way before 2050, so it is incredibly frustrating listening to people saying that we are at the forefront of technology and that we are doing all we can.

“We’re not, we know we’re not, but we are just making a lot of noise to try and make us feel better.”

Cllr Tony Miller, cabinet member for the environment, has previously said that the council was already doing a “tremendous” amount of work already.

However, Cllr Boatright insisted that this wasn’t the case: “They’re not doing even close to enough.

“150,000 trees? That would offset about 20-60 people out of 660,000 in the county, so it is simply a gesture.

“We’ve got an incinerator that is pumping co2 into the air, and we are not trapping that heat for tomato growing, or in the case of some countries banana growing so that they don’t have to be shipped all over the world.

“In Germany, they are trapping that heat and using it for district heating, so there are loads of things that we could be doing better.

“What they are doing (the Worcester Council) is robbing my 37-year-old self, and my 67-year-old self is going to have to pay for that.”

Cllr Marc Bayliss, cabinet member for economy and skills, previously hit out at “inaccurate” suggestions that the council was in denial over climate change.

“It has not been the case, it has never been the case,” he said during a full meeting of Worcestershire County Council at County Hall on Thursday (July 15).

“In fact, the reverse is true. This council has been leading the way.”